Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1887-04-21

now are small We know, but it does
not follow that they should allow
themselves to indulge in vain repin-
ings and to become chronic grumblers.
There are many thousands in other
industrial pursuits all over our broad
rand who are sailing in the same boat,
and as the spring time advances. with
its many hurryiDg duties and its new
demands for expenditures in making
ready for another seed-time, we coun-
sci them in all friendliness to avail
themselves of a little wholesome re-
Election on their business affairs. that
peradTenture some heretofore unseen
ways may be suggested for the alle-
Walton of the existing conditions and
sources Of their complainings. Such
of them as have regularly kept ajour-
nal or year book and carefully noted
down all the data from time to time
in other years, necessary to determine
the question Of profit or loss in farm
operations, will have at hand valu-
able chart Of experiences to study, and
from it they can perhaps get ideas to
turn to great advantage in the years
to come.
When the sailor works his way for
the first time into strange and diff
cult harbor with great mishaps to his
ship by reason of striking upon some
unseen rock, he will be sure to note
the nature and location of the danger,
to avoid it in future voyagings. This
Is what our complaining farmers must
do. They must take retrospect and
see if some Of the causes of their real
or imaginary ills thus far may not be
guarded against in new ventures.
From a long and quite general expe-
rience among farmers Of all conditions
we do not hesitate to say that in the
majority OF cases where complaints
are most frequent, because of inabili-
ty to meet financial liabilities, the
cause may be certainly traced to that
wild system Of fnanciering which
prompts to the spending of two dol
lars that one dollar may be had in re-
turn.
To illustrate our meaning: Here
is the case of farmer, who, becom-
ing infatuated with the notion that
large butter dairy, such as he has been
reading about in some farm paper,
with its golden butter commanding
fifty and seventy-fve cents a pound,
will speedily and surely enable him to
lift the last two thousand dollars of
his mortgage, straightway borrows an
additional two thousand to build a
snowy bagn and stabling with the
modern conveniences, and then an
other thousand dollars to buy his "Jer-
seys. Brigh. visions fit through his
mind as he makes his new departure.
His figures have all been made and
he goes forward confident and hope
full.
Two hundred pounds of butter a
week celtain-ffty cents per pound
at least" The estimates are cheer
ing, but everybody cannot make prime
golden butter, and everybody cannot
get fancy prices-and an inferior
article at twenty-five or thirty cents
Per pound will not very soon pay for
a snowy barn, nor lift a large mort
gage. And here is sjust where the dis
couragement comes in and the COM
plant Of hard times is made.
We DO not wonder at the discour.
agement, but we do protest against
laying the failure to hard times. It
was not hard times in the case we
have cited. 1t was simply misman
nothing else but an instance
every day to be met with over the
country of expending two dollars to
get one.
Another farmer is suddenly seized
with the fancy poultry" fever, aud
straightway must have an elaborate
poultry house for the noble BIRDS"
such as he has seen pictured in his
poultry journal, to COST several hun
dred dollars. This be must have
stocked with the new favorites at prices
varying from three to Eve and even
ten dollars pair, disposing of his old
stock at twenty-five or thirty-cents a
head. He, too, has bright visions and
expects to make money fast from this
investment.
The old kinds, such as the Brahmas,
the Leghorns and the Black Spanish,
,eckoned as very good and profitable
by his neighbors, did not lay enough
eggs for him. They did not weigh
enough when dressed for market; they
were liable to diseases. In short, they
had many imperfections. But the
new venture does not meet expecta-